iPhone SE Supports WiFi 6 and Express Cards, But No U1 Chip Included

Apple's new iPhone SE is essentially an iPhone 8 with some updated hardware that brings it in line with the ‌iPhone‌ 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. Along with an A13 chip, the ‌iPhone‌ 8 has a few other notable hardware upgrades worth noting.

iphoneseblack
Like the ‌iPhone‌ 11 and 11 Pro, the ‌iPhone SE‌ supports 802.11ax WiFi 6, according to the technical specifications page for the device. In fact, it has the same LTE, Bluetooth, and WiFi specifications as the ‌iPhone‌ 11:

  • Gigabit-class LTE with 2x2 MIMO and LAA4
  • 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 with 2x2 MIMO
  • Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
  • NFC with reader mode
  • Express Cards with power reserve

WiFi 6 is the latest WiFi protocol, and it allows for download speeds up to 38 percent faster than WiFi 5 (802.11ac). WiFi 6 has not been widely adopted as of yet, but addition of WiFi 6 will become increasingly important over the next few years as routers and modems begin implementing support.

The ‌iPhone SE‌ also supports NFC with reader mode as all modern iPhones do, plus Express Cards with power reserve. This feature, also included in the ‌iPhone‌ 11 and 11 Pro, allows for authentication of Express Transit cards even when an ‌iPhone‌'s battery is exhausted. It will also be a useful feature for the "CarKey" function that Apple has in the works, which will let an ‌iPhone‌ serve as an alternative to a traditional car key in vehicles that support the feature.

Though the ‌iPhone SE‌ shares many connectivity features with Apple's flagship iPhones, it does not include the U1 chip that enables Ultra Wideband technology for improved spatial awareness.

The U1 chip, which is in the ‌iPhone‌ 11 and 11 Pro, allows iPhones to precisely locate other U1-equipped Apple devices, making it easier to locate missing devices indoors. Ultra Wideband has been described by Apple as "GPS at the scale of the living room," and it is believed to be a key feature of the AirTags that Apple is developing.

AirTags are Bluetooth trackers much like Tile, and will attach to items like keys and wallets to allow them to be found in the Find My app on ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and Mac. AirTags will be locatable through standard Bluetooth, but it is believed they will have U1 support and tracking could be more accurate with devices equipped with a U1 chip.

At this time, the U1 chip is limited to Apple's flagship iPhones, and there have been two new devices released without it - the iPad Pro and now, the ‌iPhone SE‌.

Related Roundup: iPhone SE
Buyer's Guide: iPhone SE (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

best buy holiday

Best Buy Reveals Black Friday Plans With Sitewide Sales Available Now

Friday November 8, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Black Friday sales are continuing today with Best Buy kicking off early Black Friday deals that will last for the next few days. Similar to other retailers, Best Buy's early Black Friday event includes sitewide savings on Apple products, headphones, TVs, monitors, video games, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may...
mac mini thermal architecture feature

New Mac Mini Has Modular Storage, 256GB Model Will Have Faster SSD

Friday November 8, 2024 7:06 am PST by
Apple has returned to using two 128GB storage chips in the new Mac mini with 256GB of storage, according to a partial teardown video shared on social media today. This means the base-model Mac mini with the M4 chip will not have significantly slower SSD speeds compared to higher-end configurations of the computer with 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage, as multiple NAND chips allows for faster SSD...
General Final Cut Pro Feature

Apple Likely to Announce Final Cut Pro Update This Week With These New Features

Sunday November 10, 2024 12:13 pm PST by
In its announcement video for the new Mac mini last month, Apple teased an "upcoming" version of Final Cut Pro for the Mac. Apple will likely announce the update during the annual Final Cut Pro Creative Summit, which begins this Wednesday. The conference is held in association with Apple, and attendees will be visiting Apple Park on the first day. Apple already teased four new features...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 2

Monday November 4, 2024 12:34 pm PST by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 updates to developers, and Apple is continuing to refine the Apple Intelligence capabilities. There are also a handful of smaller features that are worth knowing about. Find My Find My has a new option to Share Item Location with an "airline or trusted person" that can help you locate something that you've misplaced....
iphone passcode green

Cops Suspect iOS 18 iPhones Are Communicating to Force Reboots, Making Unlocking Harder

Thursday November 7, 2024 2:20 pm PST by
Law enforcement officials in Detroit, Michigan are warning other police officers about an alleged iPhone change that causes Apple devices stored for forensic examination to spontaneously restart, reports 404 Media. iPhones that are undergoing examination have apparently been rebooting, which makes them harder to unlock with brute force methods, and Michigan police think that it's due to a...
maxresdefault

Hands On With Apple's New M4 Mac Mini

Friday November 8, 2024 12:21 pm PST by
Apple launched the new Mac mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro models with M4 chips today, and because the Mac mini is the only one of the machines that got a design update, we thought we'd check it out to see how it compares to the prior version. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The 2024 version of the Mac mini is much smaller than the previous M2 model, so it takes up...
iphone 6 thickness

iPhone 17 'Air' May Not Be Much Thinner Than iPhone 6

Monday November 11, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 17 "Air" model may not be as thin as Apple planned, according to a rumor originating in Korea. According to the news aggregator account "yeux1122" on Naver, citing industry sources, Apple has run into problems making the new iPhone 17 model sufficiently thin. The device's reduced thickness is apparently dependent on manufacturing a battery with a thinner substrate, but...

Top Rated Comments

calzon65 Avatar
60 months ago
Nice specs for a $399 phone.

I think the new SE will be a success, especially with people tired of seeing $1,000+ smartphones.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kiensoy Avatar
60 months ago
Too bad the new iPhone SE doesn't have a dazzling display of common sense like the previous iPhone SE/5.

Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
decypher44 Avatar
60 months ago
I’m honestly considering a step down. I’ve always been one to get the flagship, plus-sized phones. But now that I have the iPad Pro, and prices being what they are, the SE is actually looking pretty good. Not a whole lot I’d be missing out on. Maybe screen quality.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NickName99 Avatar
60 months ago
The timing really couldn’t be better. Stimulus checks are on the way, money is tight for a lot of folks but they may still need a newer phone. (Especially if their current phone broke or something)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EugW Avatar
60 months ago

Two opinions here

1. U1 chip is too expensive for now to include universally (partially flawed opinion due to the high cost of iPad Pro)
2. U1 chip (and the Tile counterpart) are not being used or exploited to the level Apple would have hoped and therefore not worth including until next upgrade cycles

We're going to see another SE in 3 years, another iPad Pro in 12-18 months and by then the iPhone 12 Pro will be out. It'd be amazing if the iPad 12 gets U1 again but still no other products with the chip.

I thought Tile clone relied on U1 or at least that's the opinion of the Mac-Pundits.

The U1 inclusion can't be that expensive relative to an iPad Pro to include.
I suspect 95% of buyers don't know what U1 is and wouldn't care much anyway.

It's definitely not something I'd be looking for in a low cost SE.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BenTrovato Avatar
60 months ago
TouchID & an A13 :):):)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)